Each day a different image or photograph is featured, with an
accompanying caption, which deals with various topics in Earth Science.

Golden Gate Corona

The photo above shows an enhanced view of a solar corona taken above the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, California. Fog provides a wonderful opportunity to observe diffraction phenomenon such as coronae. Fog or mist droplets act to deflect sunlight in such a way to produce interference rings in the immediate vicinity of the Sun or Moon. Note that halos are considerably farther from the solar disk than are coronal rings. Since the Golden Gate Bridge is often socked in by fog that rolls in from the Pacific, it's a great place to look for both coronae and Brocken Spectre. Photo taken at 3:00 p.m. in September of 2006.